Whether its been at the lake…
or at the ocean…
we sure have had some fun times at the beach.
Of course we have had our share of melt downs and fights…
But thankfully those times are quickly forgotten and we find ourselves at the beach again.
Because after all, there is something pretty special about finding these beautiful little creatures…
and how excited these little ones get over finding them.
Today I have the honor of being the next stop on the Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop Summer Tour. 
I chose to sew the Isabella dress. The Isabella dress is one of those dresses that I have loved since the first time I saw it. I just love all those ruffles! The pattern comes in PDF form and you can print it right at home. The pattern ranges in sizes from 3 months to a size 8. How much do you love that?! It is one of those patterns that is going to get a lot of use… that I know for sure. So head on over and take a peek at the Isabella dress pattern, it is on sale today only for $5! That is an amazing price and a great way to get a head start on your Christmas presents.
For my dress I used a silky-rayonish type of fabric and some store bought trim. Not my typical choice of fabric and colors but for some reason I just loved it. In the pattern Amy explains how to make your own ruffles using fabric but I chose to use the trim instead, they just looked so perfect together. That is what I love about patterns. They give you the basics and then you can add your own personal touch to them.
I sewed a 3T dress for the girls and the size was right on for both of them. They normally take a 2T & 3T dress size but the design of the dress allows it to fit both my 2T and 3T girl perfectly and looks so sweet on each of them… if I do say so myself. 
The pattern was really easy to follow and has detailed instructions to help you with each step. It was a pretty quick sew as well, of course it would take a little longer if you were making the ruffles yourself and not cheating like I did. The only problem I ran into was working with the fabric I chose. Plus I have to admit that I was a little nervous about sewing the exposed zipper in place on the back. It was a new way of sewing zippers in place for me, but once I did it I can say it was very easy and I will definitely be using that method again. 
I had planned on making two dresses, one for each girl but I ran out of trim. I bought 4 yards of trim but it was not enough to make two dresses with. So I would suggest buying about 2 1/4 yards of trim per dress for a 3T dress size. Of course if I was smart I would have just followed her pattern and done the calculations before heading out to the fabric store to see how much was needed, but I didn’t. 
Yup, I see lots of Isabella dresses in our future, the girls loved it too much not to make any more! And yes, they fought over who was going to wear it, hence the pictures of both girls. I guess that is why I always make two of each. I normally get mad over them fighting, but when they are fighting over a dress that I made I have a hard time getting mad at that. I know that some day they are not going to like what I make them, so I am enjoying it fully while I can.
So I’m pretty sure you can tell that I love this pattern and highly recommend it! Oh and I have to mention that dresses made from this pattern may be sold. So for those of you with an etsy store keep that in mind.
Ok, so here is the part you have all been waiting for…the giveaway! Amy is giving away 3 patterns from her shop. Any THREE patterns of your choice! Sounds great doesn’t it?! So here is how you can enter, with 3 chances to win. Please leave a separate comment for each entry and make sure you leave your email or a way for me to contact you. Giveaway will end Sunday July 23.
1. Pick out your favorite pattern from Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop
2.Pin your favorite pattern from Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop
3. Like Peek-A-Boo on facebook
Now don’t forget to head on over and take advantage of the sale price for the Isabella pattern, it’s on sale today only! And make sure you check out the rest of the tour, it is an amazing line-up of ladies!
Thanks again Amy for including me in on your pattern blog tour, I am truly honored!
Over the next few weeks Amy from Nap Time Crafters and Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop is on a summer tour around the “blogoshpere”. I am so excited to be part of this tour with such an amazing line-up ladies. We will be sharing our creations with all of you along with some amazing giveaways that you will not want to miss! Below is the schedule and links to all of the stops on the tour, so make sure you check them all out.
So I’m still working on the house, it’s never ending I tell ya! I’m just doing little touch-ups and finally adding stuff to our bare walls. It is finally looking and feeling like home. Since Christmas I have either painted or repainted 7 of our 9 rooms. With that comes a lot of little touch-ups. So one day I decided to organize all of our paints and make up little jars for all those little touch-ups that are constantly happening. In the past I would put off all of my touch-ups because I would have to get out the gallon paint can. It just seemed like too much work for me. But now these little jars make touch-ups so quick and easy…and I actually use them.
Of course I chose to use canning jars with plastic lids to store my touch-up paints in. Did you expect anything different from me?
Then I store all of my little jars in a box that I bought in the office section at Walmart. It fits them all perfectly and even has a little extra room for my sponge brushes and paint can openers that always seem to disapear.
The box is stored in the house with all of our office supplies. Kind of a weird spot you would think, but it works for me and that is what is most important.
And since we are talking about painting, how many of you have tried Frog Tape? It is the best! Yes, a little more expensive then the cheap stuff, but well worth the extra buck. I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of Frog Tape that I have gone through in the past year.
So now you can organize all of your paints and keep your walls looking brand new and clean. Gotta love that! Now I’m off to the paint store to buy more white paint for the trim. Like I said, it is never ending!
That is the number of spam comments I recieved in one day last week. Yes in just ONE day, 3,228! Over the past week I have recieved about 2,000 more of them. Please, I know I am not the only blogger that has run in to this issue with Word Press. Any suggestions for a good plugin? Please, anyone?
So if any of your emails or comments have gone unanswered that is why. Sorry and until I have this comment thing figured out I have made some changes to who can comment and how you can comment. So please if you have any questions, just send me an email, thanks!
On a fun note, my peonies were in full bloom a few weeks ago. I don’t normally have a green thumb when it comes to flowers, but this year seems to be a good year for me at least for my peonies.
The giveaway winner for the Run Around Romper pattern from the Cottage Mama Sewing Patterns Blog Tour is…
Melody who said: The Run Around Romper (I am a mom to 2 boys <3)…its adorable!! Congrats Melody, you and your little ones are going to love it!
A few weekends ago we took the kiddo’s hiking. This was one of those days that we had been waiting for like, well… years. The day when we could all go hiking and the kiddos could hike on their own. Whenever we have gone in the past we always ended up carrying at least two of them most of the way.
Ok, so maybe we did end up carrying the littlest most of the way, but that was only because she had to stop at every mud puddle in sight.
My little missy girl was a trooper and loved every minute of it! She walked pretty much the full 2 miles we went and even cried when we decided to turn around. I foresee lots of hiking trips in our future, her and I. 
It was the perfect day for a hike. It was warm with a cool breeze and of course full of black flies and mosquitoes.
But dispite all the bugs and a fall that my little guy took which resulted in blood gushing from his head, it was a good trip.
We will definitely be hiking again. Just on a shorter one where we can get to the top of the mountain or to the pond at the end of the trail.
As most of you already know Lindsey from The Cottage Mama and The Cottage Home blog has come out with 3 new patterns and she asked me to review one of her patterns. To say that I was excited is an understatement. I really didn’t even know that “The Cottage Mama” knew that I even existed. I think I even read the email a few thousand time to make sure I was reading it right. So beyond honored I was given The Run Around Romper Pattern to review. 
I love the Run Around Romper, but aren’t they all just so adorable?!
So I planned on making a romper for my little guy but ended up making one for each of the kiddos. I guess you could say that once I got started with this pattern I just couldn’t stop. Lindsey’s pattern was so easy to follow with lots of pictures along the way to refer to. It is a great project for the beginner sew-er who knows how to make a button hole. 
The Run Around Romper Pattern comes with three different design variations. You can see below that it comes in a shorts version (the one I chose to do) as well as a pants version. The pattern also allows you to embellish the front of the romper with stripes or add some cute ruffles to the bottom of the pants, but really the possibilities are endless on what you can do to these little rompers. The pattern is designed for 6 months to 6 years and can be made for girls or boys. How great is that?!
Of course the hardest part about making these rompers was deciding what fabric to use. Then again, isn’t that always the hardest part? I ended up using some super cheap fabric that I bought from Walmart for $1.50 a yard. I guess you could say that this orange fabric was calling my name. Plus the fabric is very lightweight and I knew it would be perfect for these rompers. 
I went against my norm and made them a bit more matchy-match then I normally do. The only difference I made between the two of them was with the side tabs and the buttons. On one of the rompers I added a little white ruffle down the front, but left the rest plain and simple.
The rompers can be paired with a simple peasant top, tee shirt or just be worn as is.
You can tell just by looking at them how comfy they are. They really are the perfect little outfit for running around in, even if it is to the garden to get all dirty!
Or to sit and enjoy some yummy pops.
Even my little guy even got a romper. I planned on making him an orange gingham one to match the girls but he begged for a yellow and green one.
I’m sure you can guess why.
For his romper I used the shorts version and added the interweaving stripes. I will be honest, I’m just not feeling this romper like the girls. Lindsey tells you in the pattern to be careful choosing your fabrics for the interweaving stripes and I knew once I lined all of the stripes up that I just wasn’t feeling it… unfortunately my little guy was. So I had no choice…I sewed some yellow and green stripes on. Sometimes you just need to make a little boy happy and make him what he wants.
So here comes the fun part. This is the part where I ask you if you want to win a Run Around Romper Pattern of your own. Well of course you do!
To enter, head on over to The Cottage Mama and take a peek at all of her newest patterns. Then just come back here and leave me a comment telling me which pattern you would love to have. Yes, it is that simple!
Of course if you want more chances to win you can:
1. Like The Cottage Home on Facebook
2. Follow The Cottage Home Blog
Week 1:
Stef from Girl. Inspired (Charlotte Pattern)
Jessica from Me Sew Crazy (Ruby Pattern)
Christina from 2LittleHooligans (Run Around Pattern)
Jess from Craftiness is not Optional (Ruby Pattern)
Week 2:
Maureen from Maureen Cracknell Handmade (Charlotte Pattern)
Liz and Elizabeth from Simple Simon (Run Around Pattern)
Andrea from The Train to Crazy (Ruby Pattern)
Destri from The Mother Huddle (Ruby Pattern)
Beverly from Flamingo Toes (Charlotte Pattern)
Week 3:
Shannon from Luvinthemommyhood (Ruby Pattern)
Mama Reita / Amy from Positively Splendid (Charlotte Pattern)
Susan from Living with Punks (Ruby Pattern)
I’m so excited about today’s Fat Quarter Friday project. Like, I’m mildly obsessed with it, seriously! It just may be my most favorite thing I have ever made. See, I have been wanting a wrapping station for like… well, for forever. But all the ones I have wanted are just way too pricey for me. So the other day when I was reading my Flea Market Style magazine I saw the most in-genius wrapping paper bin made from an old wooden kitchen stool. Oh yes, I was in LOVE with this idea! It is cheap, practical, and oh so cute! I really should have taken a picture of the stool for you, but truly you should all just go and buy this magazine. It is great! I hardly buy magazines these days, but this one is always a must!
So basically their wrapping paper bin was an old kitchen stool turned upside down. On the bottom of the seat part they added casters so that it could easily roll around. Inside of the stool they placed a bag made from fabric to hold all of the wrapping paper. Then they added some little S-hooks to the rungs of the stool to hold scissors in place. Yes, their idea was simply brilliant! BRILLIANT! So I came up with my own design inspired by their wrapping paper bin. My wrapping paper organizer fits my needs perfectly and hope it will fit your wrapping needs as well or at least inspire you to make one that will fit your needs. So enough explaining about this wrapping paper organizer, lets make one!
(allow 2+ hours to make)
* Kitchen stool. Keep your eyes open for one at the thrift store or yard sales. I used a stool we had but were no longer using. I actually bought it a few years ago at Walmart for about $20.
* Fabric: To make two larger bags and two smaller bags like I did you are going to need about 2 1/2 yards of fabric or one $5 twin flat sheet from Walmart. Of course you will need more fabric depending on the size of your stool and the design of your fabric chosen. Read below to see how to determine the amount of fabric needed.
* 4 Casters. You can buy these at any hardware store.
* 2 packages of bias tape or about 4 yards of homemade bias tape. (Of course you could use ribbon as well.) And really the amount needed depends on how long your want your ties to be.
My stool was a light colored wood that I no longer like so I sprayed it white. Now here is how you determine how much fabric you are going to need. Take and lay your stool on its side. Measure from right under the seat part to the bottom of the last rung. Mine measured 18″ long. Now measure the length between the legs at the widest part of the legs. Mine measured 12″ at the widest part. Another way to measure is to lay a piece of fabric down on the table and then lay the stool (on it’s side) on top of that piece of fabric. Then trace onto the fabric right under the seat and then trace on the bottom of the last rung. Then trace on the outer edges of the legs of the stool. Confused? It’s actually really easy and once you see the second picture below you will totally understand what I mean.
See the piece of fabric below? This is the piece that I traced out and cut. You are going to want to cut out a piece of fabric like so as well. Now you are going to need 4 pieces cut like so to make one bag. Which means you are going to need 12 pieces the same exact size to make a gift wrapping organizer just like mine. So measure your piece of fabric or use your measurements to determine the amount of fabric needed. I actually used a $5 sheet from Walmart, but by my calculations I came up with about 2 1/2 yards needed per stool for a stool my size. But to be certain, do the math yourself by your measurements.
Cut out your 12 pieces of fabric per your measurements. Take two pieces of fabric and sew right sides together on the sides and the bottom. Leave the top (widest part of bag) open. See picture below.
Now you want to square off the edges to give the bag shape. To do this, fold your bag out like shown below. Now measure in about 1 1/2″ from the tip of the bag. Draw a line across. 
Sew on the lines you just drew.
Trim off the excess fabric.
Now your bag has shape. Make 3 more bags like you just did. You will want a total of 4 bags with 4 pieces of fabric left over. The remaining 4 pieces will be cut later to make the smaller bags.
Now gather your bias tape.
You are going to cut your bias tape or ribbons to the length that you want your ties to be. I cut 6 pieces of bias tape 24″ long. Now top stitch your bias tape shut.
Measure in 2″ from the edge of your bag on both sides. This is where you will want to attach your bias tape. Fold bias tape in half. Place folded part of bias tape on top of marks and tack in place. 
Now take one of your bags and turn it wrong side out. Place right side out bag that has ties inside. Pin both bags together at top.
Sew around top while leaving an opening for turning right sides out.
Turn bag right side out through opening.
Press and top stitch around top edge.
Now tie the bag onto the stool.
Repeat with the other two bags.
Now gather the remaining 4 pieces of fabric and fold in half like below. Cut on folded edge.
Now you have 4 pieces of fabric in two different sizes. 4 smaller pieces and 4 bigger pieces. The two different sizes will give you the two different sized bags. So just like before, you are going to make 2 bags from the four pieces of fabric. Just make sure you are sewing the same sized pieces together. 
Attach all of the bags to the stool and attach your 4 casters to the seat of the stool. Space them out evenly on the edges of seat.
Now gather all of your wrapping supplies and start filling those bags.
Use the rungs of the stool without a bag to store your folded tissue paper on.
Place your wrapping paper in the middle.
Use the smaller pockets to hold your siscors, tape, hole punch, cards, tags, pens, markers or any of your smaller items.
And use the larger pockets to hold your ribbons, boxes or bags.
So what do you think? LOVE it?
I know I do! Big Thanks to Flea Market Style for the great idea!
*Just remember all of my tutorials are for PERSONAL use only! Please feel free to use any of my pictures, just link back and give credit where credit is due, thanks!*
**Just a quick note: all of the bags of scraps are all spoken for. I will be getting in contact with the first 5 people that I either recieved an email or a comment from shortly. I am still working on the shipping prices. Thanks to all of you who were interested and no worries I will destash again!**
It took one full day to plant the gardens this year. Now that the kiddos are getting bigger it is getting so much easier…and funner.
They love working out in the gardens just as much as we do!
Every single seed in their packets got planted. I can only imagine what some of those mounds and rows are going to look like.
But that is a good thing, because with all of the trenches and holes they are digging in the gardens we are going to need some extra plants to grow.
You know…just in case.
The truth is they are pretty careful around the plants, but every once in awhile a little girl gets too excited over some onions that are growing as she thinks they are ready to be picked…and ends up picking a quarter of the row before this momma (who is busy mowing the lawn) realizes it. 
Luckily onions are an easy fix. 
And I will trade onions for dirty toes any day!
Of course with the start of gardening season also comes the start of bug season, and caterpillar season, and moth season… and whatever other bug they can find season. This little one has a love for “papillars” like I have never seen before. 
While her big sister rather enjoy them this way…me too.
